1. Semantics-Pragmatics
Chapter 1
Semantics in Linguistics

2. Different levels of linguistics
Different levels of linguistic analysis describing linguistic abilities based on linguistic knowledge
phonology: the study of sound system
syntax: the study of how words can be combined into sentences
semantics: the study of meanings of word and sentences
(*Modular theory)

3. semantics: description of semantic knowledge
(linguistic description: an attempt to reflect a speaker's linguistic knowledge)
1) same situation:
A is taller than B. vs. B is smaller than A.
2) contradiction: London is the capital of England. vs.
London is not the capital of England.
3) ambiguity: She gave her the slip.
4) entailment: "Henry murdered his bank manager."
entails “Henry's bank manager is dead."
(A entails B, if, whenever A is true, then B is also true.)

4. Semantics and Semiotics
only a part of a larger enterprise of investigating how people understand meaning: the study of linguistic meaning which is a part of Semiotics.
Semiotics: the general study of the use of sign systems
de Saussure: signifier vs. signified
Peirce: icon (portrait, picture, photo),
index (close association of a sign with its
signified, often causal relationship; smoke-fire)
symbol (only a conventional link between the
sign and its signified)
*language: man's most sophisticated use of signs

5. Meeting Three Challenges in Doing Semantics
For example, the Definition Theory;
1) Circularity: how can we state the meaning of a word?
ferret : domesticated albino variety of the polecat,
bred for hunting rabbits, rats, etc.
= object/target language : meta-language
English ferret 한국어 흰담비 (FERRET)
2) how to make sure that our definitions of a word's meaning are exact: the question of whether linguistic knowledge is different from general/encyclopaedic knowledge
for example, whale, fish or a mammal?
==> mental lexicon or dictionary

6. Meeting Three Challenges in Doing Semantics
3) the problem of the contribution of context to meaning
a. Marvelous weather you have here.
b. He is dying.
c. It’s getting late.
==>conventional or literal meaning vs. inferential meaning (pragmatics)

7. Semantics in a Model of Grammar
Formal grammar: modular theory (linguistic forms distinct modules); see figure 1.1 on p.9. distinction between linguistic and non-linguistic knowledge
Cognitive grammar: meaning cannot be identified as a separate level; not autonomous from the study of other levels of grammar

8. Semantics in a Model of Grammar
Word meaning and sentence meaning
one central issue in semantics: the relationship between word meaning and sentence meaning  sentence meaning is compositional.
difference in productivity( sentence meaning: creativity) : see the examples on p10 – p1

9. Some Important Assumptions
Reference and sense
Ferdinand de Saussure(1974): the meaning of linguistic expressions derives from two sources:
the language they are part of (sense)
& the world they describe (reference)
ex) chair, red, plural
*Figure 1.2

10. Some Important Assumptions
utterance: created by speaking an expression
sentence: abstract grammatical elements obtained from utterances by filtering out especially phonetic information
proposition: obtained by filtering out grammatical information from sentences;
description of states of affairs = a basic element of sentence meaning

11. Literal meaning and non-literal meaning
ex) I'm hungry. I'm starving. I could eat a horse. My stomach thinks my throat's non-literal use: figurative uses (metaphor, irony, metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole, easy to draw a firm line between literal and non-literal uses because of fossilization: glass ceiling, surf >> toy boy, junk bond, mouse >> shuttle

12. Literal meaning and non-literal meaning
1) Literal language theory => there is a valid distinction; non-literal uses require a different processing strategy than literal language: interpret S's utterance from its literal meaning by inference:
예) dead or faded metaphor: eat a horse, spend the time ...
2) Cognitive semantics: no principled distinction between the two uses
George Lakoff:
metaphor=an integral part of human categorization:
a basic way of organizing our thoughts about the world (example 1.31 on p.16)

13. semantics and pragmatics
Charles Morris's division of semiotics syntax: the formal relation of signs to each other semantics: the relations of signs to the objects to which the signs are applicable pragmatics: the relation of signs to = sentence meaning abstracted away language users pragmatics = meaning described in relation with language users (speaker meaning)